


in mountains that are stacked with fear

by velcrooooo



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Eldritch Lyf RIGHTS, Ill update tags as it continues, Lyf joins the mechanisms, Other, because I can not stop thinking about Lyf with wings, chapter 1 is a little angsty folks, ivy: you can call us by our names you know. Lyf: not to be dramatic but Id rather die, lyf on the aurora what crimes will they commit, maybe Ill have a coherent update schedule one day, this is my first long fic so please bear with me, winged midgardians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26906554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velcrooooo/pseuds/velcrooooo
Summary: Lyfrassir Edda should have died, but they did not.Lyfrassir Edda shouldn't have ever run into the Mechanisms again, and yet they did
Relationships: Lyfrassir Edda/Marius von Raum
Comments: 18
Kudos: 124





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hello! This is the beginning of my first long fic, so please bear with me as I figure out updating schedules and all. For now, I hope you enjoy!

Lyfrassir Edda should be dead.

They shouldn't have made it out of Yggdrasil in time. It was pure, dumb luck that they had escaped.

Lyf was crouched in their seat on board the small ship they had left their star system in. The screams from the radio had finally faded, though the silence almost felt worse.

No. The silence was definitely worse.

They were completely alone in the void of space. The only sounds in the ship were the quiet beeping of machines, and eventually Lyf's quiet sobs. 

They wrapped their wings around themself, letting their tears fall freely from their face. In the silence, they were stuck with only their thoughts and the crushing burden of being the  _ only surviving member of an entire star system. _

They shuddered, sobbing and pulling their knees up to their chest. In the short time they had to get out, they hadn't had the time to go back for any of their family. They had left a warning in their report, hoping at least  _ someone  _ would take it seriously.

He had tried to warn  _ them.  _

Lyfrassir Edda hated the Mechanisms. They drove them half crazy in the five years they had to deal with them.

Raphaella la Cognizi and her strange, metal wings. The other two didn't have wings. Why were her's metal? Ivy Alexandria hadn't been nearly as insufferable as the other two. She was smart, and didn't talk to Lyf a lot, which they appreciated. Marius von Raum. Gods,  _ Marius.  _ He was the most annoying person Lyf had ever met in their entire life. He joke-flirted (was it a joke?) with Lyf every time they saw him, and always seemed to have a violin on him somehow. They thought they might go insane if they ever had to hear that gods-awful song again.

Though in the deafening silence of the ship, Lyf privately thought that there would be nothing better. They wouldn't ever admit that they thought it, though.

When they went through the rest of the black box, in their terror they thought to warn the three prisoners. No matter what they tried to tell themself, they did consider them to be something akin to friends.

They weren't there. They had gotten out. Escaped. Without any warning.

_ Well. That's not quite true, is it?  _ Lyf rubbed their eyes with their sleeve.  _ They knew what was coming. But they didn't warn me.  _ They weren't sure how they felt about that. Sad? Angry? A weird, fucked up mix of both?

It scared Lyf to think of how close they had come to dying a horrible death along with the rest of Yggdrasil. Even if the Mechanisms hadn't warned them about what was coming, Ivy had fixed the black box for them, right? If she hadn't… If Lyf hadn't known…

Their wings shivered, and they wrapped themself up tighter. This whole situation  _ sucked.  _ They were drifting aimlessly through space with limited supplies, they were thoroughly traumatised, and they were completely alone.

They weren't sure how long it would take to get to another planet. Or Hel, even any other civilization. (They  _ wouldn't  _ think about the possibility of them never leaving this damned ship alive)

That's what they needed to focus on. They needed to send out an SOS signal, maybe alerting any other ships that they were out here. They needed to find other people. They were going to be ok. They just needed to stop feeling sorry for themself.

They took a deep, shaky breath and sat up straight, folding up their wings behind them and reaching for the controls.

  
  
  
  
  


They hadn't been getting a lot of sleep. They spent a lot of their time sitting in front of the ship, silently watching the stars and trying to get the attention of any nearby ships.

What little sleep they did get was plagued with nightmares. Gods, the nightmares were  _ horrible.  _ Filled with color and noise and static and horrible creatures from between realities. They would wake up screaming almost every time they went to sleep, and it would take hours to get  _ back  _ to sleep.

They were waking up from one of these nightmares now. They sat up with a strangled gasp, colors flashing in their vision as they came back to themself.

They gulped, relaxing a little bit as they remembered exactly where they were. Their heart pounded in their chest, and they took a few deep breaths, sitting up all the way and slumping their shoulders.

It took a few moments for the colors and static to fade from their vision. They had started noticing it more and more recently, especially when they woke up from nightmares. 

It wad stupid to think that they had escaped Yggdrasil without being effected in any way. But they could pretend. They could pretend they hadn't noticed the shimmering colors that had spread over their wings. They could pretend not to notice the way their eyes seemed to shine rainbow for just a moment when they looked at their reflection. They could pretend that everything was ok, even for just a little bit to comfort themself in the dark of the ship.

They spent a few more moments staring into the darkness quietly before getting up slowly and making their way back to the front of the ship. They sat down, shifting into a comfortable position and staring out at the stars.

It would have been comforting under any other circumstances. But now, looking out into the cold void of space, they were reminded of how alone they were. They weren't sure exactly how long they had been going. They tried to keep track, but it proved to be very difficult given the situation. Maybe a few weeks, maybe a month. Either way, they hadn't spoken a single word, especially not to another person.

They tried not to think about Yggdrasil too much. They tried to keep themself busy to avoid the crushing guilt and loneliness. Though in moments like now, when it was pitch black in the ship and everything was quiet, their mind wandered.

They didn't have a whole lot of friends back on Yggdrasil. Sure, they had been fairly close with their coworkers, but nothing they would consider real friends.

Except the three people they were trying very hard not to think about.

It was silly, yes, but when they hadn't spoken to anyone in so long, they did  _ almost  _ miss the Mechanisms. 

_ Did they make it out in time? Where are they now? _ Lyf sighed, crossing one of their legs over the other. 

They told themself they hated them. I mean, they  _ had _ to. But… It wasn't like they were ever going to see the Mechanisms again. They were gone, and Yggdrasil was destroyed, so there was really no point in pretending that they hadn't enjoyed the three prisoners company.

Yggdrasil was gone. It was all gone, and Lyf was alone. They might die out in the cold emptiness of space, and the rest of Yggdrasil would die with them. No one would remember them.

Lyf took a deep, shuddery breath and sobbed, leaning their head back and covering their eyes. 

They had been floating through space for gods knows how long, and they hadn't found any sign of civilization. They were running out of food and water, and they were  _ scared.  _ Was slowly starving to death in a small ship drifting aimlessly through space much worse than whatever would have happened to them back in Yggdrasil?

Lyf wasn't sure anymore. 

They quietly cried to themself for a little while, burying their face in their arms. The memory of their nightmare was still fresh in their head, which definitely didn't help. 

Eventually they dozed off in their spot, curling up on their side and wrapping their wings around themself. For once, they slept almost peacefully.

  
  
  
  
  


Lyf was standing in front of a mirror. They took a deep breath, and slowly spread their wings.

They had been trying to ignore it, trying to convince themself it was their eyes playing tricks on them, but it was impossible now to ignore the streaks of color that had spread over both of their wings. 

The rainbowy streaks glowed faintly in the dim light of the ship. Lyf inhaled sharply, turning their head and running one of their hands through their feathers slowly. They had also noticed the strands of rainbow hair that had appeared seemingly overnight, but they were considerably more concerned about what it could be doing to their wings.

They stretched them out as far as they would go, studying themself in the mirror intently. Though, nothing seemed to be  _ too  _ different, besides the color.

Well. They couldn't exactly pretend that they had gotten away from Yog-Sothoth unscathed anymore.

Lyf shivered, folding their wings up and reaching towards their hair hesitantly. Its normal dark brown color was streaked with rainbow, like their wings.

They actually laughed breathlessly, which startled them into laughing more. 

_ This is so fucked up.  _ Lyf leaned their forehead against the mirror. They were honestly terrified, but they were also far too exhausted to do anything about it, especially since they were almost certain they were going to die out here.

They were going to die. They were going to die alone and in space. No one alive would remember them or Yggdrasil.

Well. Almost no one.

It was weird to think that they actually missed the prisoners. Even Marius.

Or maybe especially Marius.

Lyf rested their face in their hands and exhaled softly. They had had  _ only  _ time to think about everything that had happened. They had finally come to terms with the fact that they were almost certainly going to die, and they had accepted every single feeling they knew they had about the Mechanisms. They had been a nuisance, but interesting ones at that. 

Raphaella was odd, but she seemed to like Lyf well enough, and spoke to them whenever they came by. Ivy was quiet, but she was very smart. Whenever she did talk to Lyf, she seemed to know exactly what she was talking about. And yes, Marius had been an idiot, but he seemed to find Lyf fascinating, which was more than they could say about anyone else. 

Gods. They really did miss them, didn't they?

_ I wonder if they ever think of me.  _ Lyf sighed, wrapping their wings around themself and slowly sinking down onto the ground, their shoulders slumped.

  
  
  
  
  


They had run out of food and water a while ago. Maybe days, maybe a week, they weren't sure.

Lyf was curled up in a corner, tears silently streaming down their face. They rubbed their eyes with their sleeve, and took a few deep breaths.

They didn't notice it at first, but now they could tell for sure.

Colors swam in their vision, and they could hear static, starting off quiet and slowly rising in volume. 

They didn't  _ want  _ to die like this. They didn't want to die surrounded by color and that awful noise. They didn't want to die alone and afraid in some empty part of the universe.

When they noticed another sound in the ship, they weren't positive if they were imagining it or not. They could barely see the rest of the room through the colors. And they couldn't tell what was real through the static and the ever so faint sound of singing that was ringing in their ears.

Through the haze of color and sound they could have sworn they heard voices, though they assumed it wasn't real. Like the rest of it. 

Shadows of people flashed in their vision, and they were almost certain they were dying when they saw someone crouched in front of them. The person had  _ wings.  _ They must be dying.

The last thing they remembered before blacking out was the sound of someone calling their name in the distance, and the feeling of someone grabbing them by the shoulders.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyf wakes up on a strange starship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! I maybe procrastinated on this a tiny bit but hey I'm sure it turned out alright

"Are they alright?"

"For the last time, they're fine."

"They are doing very well considering the fact that there was a 87% chance they should have died."

Lyf could hear voices talking urgently somewhere near them. They thought they could recognize a few of them, but they were too exhausted to be able to tell for sure.

_ Wait. What the hell? I'm not dead?  _ Lyf groaned, and the voices immediately cut off. They opened their eyes slowly, blinking against the bright lights, and sat up.

They had been laying on what seemed to be a hospital bed. They stretched their wings briefly, and looked up.

"Lyfrassir! You're awake! How are you feeling?" Lyf froze, staring in disbelief. Raphaella la Cognizi was standing next to their bed, smiling.

They glanced around the room briefly. They could see Ivy, another person they didn't recognize, and Marius.

_ You have got to be kidding me.  _ Lyf rested their face in their hands. "You have to be kidding me." They repeated out loud.

"Did you miss us?" Lyf heard Marius ask, and they immediately looked up, making a face. Marius was leaning against the edge of their bed, grinning at them.

"Where am I? What happened?" They asked, pointedly ignoring his question.  _ Of all the people to find me, it HAD to be them, didn't it. How is this even possible?! _

Ivy spoke up from the corner of the room. "You're on the starship Aurora." She informed them, smiling.

"We saw your ship just kind of floating out there. Jonny here wanted to loot it." Raphaella nodded towards the other person in the room, who smiled and nodded at Lyf. "Well, me, Jonny, and Marius came onboard, and I found you laying against the wall. You were all rainbowy, and it was a little bit scary, but also  _ fascinating  _ if I'm being honest." Raphaella paused. "Right. Anyways, we decided to bring you on board."

Jonny cleared his throat. " _ We  _ meaning  _ these two. _ " He gestured towards Marius and Raphaella. "Don't bring me into this."

Lyf squinted at him. They couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. 

"Gods. This is real, isn't it? I'm not dreaming?" They sat up all the way and leaned back on their arms.

"Nope! Jonny responded, crossing his arms and grinning.

"Right. That's enough freaking out the inspector, I think." Ivy said, setting down the book she'd been holding. Lyf barely had any time to react before she drew a gun and shot Jonny in the head.

Lyf jumped at the sound, their wings flaring in surprise. Jonny collapsed onto the ground, and Lyf stared in horror. 

"Did you just-?" Lyf scooted back a little bit, folding their wings up tightly. 

Raphaella waved dismissively. "He'll be fine. Er- We should probably get him out of here before he wakes up and gets violent." She sighed, nudging his body with her foot. "Ivy? Marius? Could you two take him out of here? Doesn't matter where."

"Why can't you and Ivy do it?" Marius complained. 

Raphaella glanced from Lyf to Marius a few times. "I need to ask Lyfrassir a few questions." She explained. 

Lyf shifted uncomfortably in their spot, but didn't say anything. 

Marius sighed dramatically, and stood up straight. "Alright, alright." He walked towards Ivy, who had already started dragging Jonny out the door.

Lyf stared in terrified fascination. "What the hell?"

"We're all immortal." She was holding a clipboard now, and had a pen in her hand. "Jonny will be awake and fine, if not a little violent, in a few minutes." She scribbled something down on her paper.

They gulped. "Right. Makes sense." They laughed nervously.  _ This has got to be some weird dream. _ "How did you all even find me? The odds of that are-"

"6%, according to Ivy." Raphaella interrupted them, smiling. "We're glad you're alive, Lyfrassir.

How  _ did  _ Lyf feel about this? Sure, they had missed Raphaella and Ivy and even Marius a little bit, ( _ just a little bit _ , they told themself) but this was ridiculous. They didn't think they would ever see any of them again.

"Alrighty! Is it ok if I ask you a few questions?" She asked, snapping Lyf out of their thoughts. 

They exhaled, and leaned against the wall behind them. They probably couldn't comfortably stay in this position for a long time, but it would work for now. "Sure."

"What exactly was happening to you when we found you?" She asked, her pen hovering over the paper.

Lyf shuddered. "Um. I'm not exactly sure. I just remember seeing a lot of colors and hearing static and…." They paused. Their voice had risen in pitch on the last few words. "Really, that's all. What did you see?"

Raphaella hummed thoughtfully. "Well. Your eyes were sort of glowing all white and rainbowy, and  _ you  _ were just. Glowing. The metal around you was also covered in rainbow." She explained, not noticing Lyf's horrified expression.

They felt sick. "Um… Yes. Ok." They wrapped their arms around themself and sighed.

Raphaella was looking at them intently. "Is it alright if I see your wings?" She asked.

Lyf blinked. They were a little taken aback by the question. "Er- Alright. Don't touch them, though."

They spread their wings slowly, and Raphaella exhaled softly. She leaned a little closer, and Lyf tensed up, but she didn't touch them.

"They weren't colorful like that before. Neither was your hair or eyes." She wrote something else down. 

"No. They weren't." Lyf said quietly.

Raphaella cleared her throat. "Do you mind if I draw some blood to study?" She asked. 

They shrugged. "Go ahead."  _ Maybe she'll know what's happening to me.  _ They held out their arm, and waited.

  
  
  
  


"Alright! I let the rest of the crew know that you were on board, so you  _ should _ be safe." Raphaella paused. "Maybe stay close to Ivy or Marius, just in case."

Lyf nodded, slowly slipping out of the bed. "Thank you, La Cognizi." They said, nodding.

"You can just call me Raphaella." She smiled at them. 

"Where is Alexandria?" They asked, walking with Raphaella to the exit.

"Ivy's probably in the library. Or with Toy Soldier." She shrugged. "I would help you, but I've got some work to do."

Lyf sighed. "No, it's alright. It'll help me get used to the ship." They looked up and down the hallway.

"Awesome! Ok! I'll see you later, Lyfrassir!" She smiled, waving briefly before taking off down the hall.

They watched her leave, and took a deep breath. They didn't know how big the ship was, much less where the  _ library  _ was.  _ Right. If I keep going in one direction, I'll probably find something. _

Lyf started down the hall, running their hand on the wall as they walked. They passed a few doors, but they didn't run into anyone else. For a while, at least.

They turned around a corner, and nearly collided with someone.

"Shit!" The other person swore, stumbling backwards. 

"Sorry! Please don't shoot me!" Lyf put their hands up, taking a few steps back. The other woman reached for her gun slowly, frowning.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Lyfrassir Edda. Former inspector, second class." They relaxed a little bit as the woman nodded. 

"Raph did mention you. Sorry about that. My name is Nastya." She held out a hand for them to shake, which they accepted. "What brings you to the Aurora, Lyfrassir? Raphaella didn't say  _ why  _ there was a mortal on board."

They breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Nastya seemed nice enough. "They found my ship drifting through space and decided to pick me up. Er- I knew la Cognizi, von Raum, and Alexandria. From Midgard." They felt a pang of loss as they thought about their home again.

Nastya looked them over, her gaze lingering on their wings. "Oh! I thought I recognized your name. I have heard a  _ lot  _ about you." She grinned.

Lyf decided that they didn't  _ particularly  _ want to know what she meant by that. "Riiight." 

"Are you staying with us?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Lyf paused.  _ Were  _ they? I mean, they didn't really  _ have _ anywhere else to go. "For now." They frowned.

"You'll get used to being here. Just stay away from Jonny and Tim, especially both of them together." Nastya hummed thoughtfully. "And maybe Ashes around anything flammable."

"I think I can do that." They nodded. "Sorry- Exactly how many people are on board?" They really had thought that Ivy, Raphaella, and Marius were the only three before being rescued.

"Counting you? Ten." She said, looking up at the ceiling and counting off on her fingers. "There's you, me, Jonny, Brian, Tim, Ashes, the Toy Soldier, Raphaella, Ivy, and Marius."

Lyf exhaled. "Wow. Ok. Who is  _ least  _ likely to shoot me on sight?"

"Marius for sure." She said immediately. She thought for a moment, crossing her arms again and tapping her fingers on her arm. "Ivy and Raphaella as well. I won't shoot you, TS probably wouldn't, neither would Brian on MjE."

"Hmm. Thank you." They sighed, tilting their head back. They didn't really trust  _ anyone  _ with a gun, least of all the mechanisms. 

"One more thing. Can you help me find the library?" They asked, looking down again. 

Nastya nodded. "Sure. It isn't too far from here." She motioned for them to follow her, and started walking.

"So who's in charge?" Lyf asked Nastya, speeding up a little to keep up with her.

She shrugged. "No one, really. Jonny will try to tell you he's the captain, don't listen to him. He's the first mate." She looked over at them and smiled.

Lyf managed to return her smile. 

They walked in silence for a little while, until Nastya stopped them at the doors to another room. "The library is in here. If I were you, I'd let her know that it's you before you walk in." Nastya grimaced. 

"Thank you, Nastya." Lyf nodded. "And- You can call me Lyf. If you'd like." 

"Not a problem. I'll see you later, Lyf." She smiled, nodding back and continuing down the hall.

They reached for the handle of the door, hesitated for a moment, and pushed it open.

"Hello?" Lyf called, looking around. The library was fairly large, and they could see dozens of cramped shelves filled with books.

"Lyfrassir? Is that you?" Lyf heard Ivy's voice, and saw her peek out from behind a shelf.

"Yes. Er… La Cognizi told me it would probably be a good idea to stay close to someone who won't shoot at me immediately." They explained.

She hummed. "That would be best. You should be fine here." Ivy motioned for them to come over.

Lyf slowly walked over to her. She was holding several books in her arms, and as Lyf approached they watched her put a few on the shelf in front of her.

"How're you feeling?" She asked, not looking over at them.

"I feel fine." They said flatly, crossing their arms and leaning against one of the shelves.

She laughed. "You don't sound exactly thrilled to be here. I don't blame you." She shrugged.

Lyf made a face. "Of course I'm not  _ thrilled to be here.  _ Quite honestly, I didn't think I'd have to put up with you three ever again after leaving Yggdrasil."

"Me neither. Really, the odds of you making it out were slim to begin with." She exhaled, putting the last book on the shelf. "And the odds of us  _ finding  _ you were even lower."

"Hmm." Lyf frowned. 

Ivy looked back over at them. "I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure you'll get used to everything pretty quickly."

"Thank you, Alexandria." They managed a smile. 

She giggled. "You can call us by our first names, you know."

Lyf stared at her for a moment.

"Right." She grinned. "Would you like to help me shelf a few more books?" She asked.

They sighed. "Sure."


End file.
